Generally, existing brake rotors include solid, non-venting rotor designs and venting designs, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,848. Accordingly, conventional ventilated brake rotors generally include a pair of mutually spaced-apart annular disks that present two opposed external braking surfaces for engaging brake pads under a clamping operation of a braking actuator (brake caliper). The space between the disks typically includes a number of vanes with flow passages defined between each pair of adjacent vanes that extend between the disks from a braking surface inner diameter to the outer diameter. Rotation of the rotor causes the vanes to induce air flow through the flow passages from the inner diameter to the outer diameter of the braking surfaces, providing increased convective heat transfer from the rotor. Inlets for the vanes reside near the central portion of the rotor.
Ever since the advent of the automobile, automotive enthusiasts have customized their vehicles for both aesthetic and performance reasons. Typically, in the case of braking performance upgrades, enthusiasts would do such things as add braking pads of exotic material compositions. However, such an upgrade usually would not significantly improve braking performance, and is most likely unnoticeable to the average automotive enthusiast.
Accordingly, in order to increase braking performance to a noticeable degree, enthusiasts usually replace existing disc brake rotors with larger (i.e., increased diameter) rotors. These increased diameter brake rotors include larger annular braking surfaces, specifically including larger braking surface widths (i.e., distance between the inner diameter of the braking surface and the outer diameter of the braking surface) than the original. equipment (OE) brake rotors.
The problem with replacing the OE brake rotors with larger diameter brake rotors is that many of the components of the OE brake system now also need to be replaced. For example, the OE calipers, pads and associated hardware cannot be used in combination with the new larger diameter rotors. Thus, to provided a noticeable increase in brake performance, almost the entire braking system at each wheel location having an increased diameter rotor must be replaced. Accordingly, such an undertaking can become complicated and expensive.
Moreover, in using disc brake rotors having increased diameters, they are subject to increased stresses which may cause premature failure (e.g., warping). This is the general reason why most passenger vehicles lack large rotors, and automotive system designers instead focus on the development of exotic materials for brake rotors and brake pads to increase braking performance. Thus, there exists a need for stable and durable larger brake rotors to increase braking performance, and also for a means for increasing brake system performance without having to substantially modify the entire existing brake system.